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Columba Catholic College Newsletter Volume 25 No. 1 - 4th February 2022

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Columba Families,

Welcome back to 2022! A very special welcome to all new students, families and staff.

The start to 2022 has provided us with new challenges and new opportunities. Whilst we fully appreciate it has been a difficult time for many, we must now look forward to a new year filled with hope, learning and opportunity.

Please find below here a copy of the back to school arrangements for Monday 7 February.

Prep, Year 1 and students experiencing vulnerability. Parents can walk with their child to the classroom but will not be able to enter the classroom. Parents will drop their stationery packs outside the classroom.

Years 2 - 6 students. Parents will be able to drop their child/rens stationery boxes (with their name clearly labelled on the box) to a designated area in the Undercroft. Students will move to the Undercover Area and will be met by their class teachers at 8.30am. All students will be required to wear their sports house uniforms. We strongly encourage students in Years 3 – 6 to bring a mask to school to wear when social distancing is not possible. We will have a small supply of masks available should students not have access to their own masks.

Year 7 and new students to the College are to meet at the Edmund Undercover Area. Student Prefects, Pastoral Leaders and Mr Kyle will meet students and assist them in locating their classrooms. All students including those who are under 12 years of age on the Mount Carmel Campus are required to supply and wear a face mask.

Years 8-12 students are to meet at their Pastoral Care Classrooms at 8:30am. All secondary students are required to wear their sports house uniforms. All students on the Mount Carmel Campus are required to supply and wear a face mask.

Parents and carers of Years 2 -12 students will need to ‘Stop, Drop and Go’ at entry gates. These limitations are in place until Friday 4 March.

Please also find here the latest Roadmap Back to school plan for your reference and information of COVID safe measures.

The health and safety of our school community is of the highest priority. Please do not send your child back to school or boarding if they are unwell or are a COVID-19 close contact. Children who arrive at school appearing unwell will be sent home.

Keeping our community safe and being co-responsible for each other is the most practical way we can care for each other at this time. For members of the community visiting the college, please be reminded of the expectations regarding checking in via the Checkin Qld App, the use of face masks, social distancing and using hand sanitizer.

On behalf of the college I would like to congratulate our 2021 Senior cohort on their outstanding achievements. 100% of our students received their QCE. Students have accepted full time employment, apprenticeships and entry into university courses. Special congratulations to our 2021 College Dux Olivia Stevenson who has been accepted into Medicine. Thank you to all of our students, their teachers and families. We wish our students an abundance of blessings in their journey ahead.

The college theme for 2022 is “I will Follow”. Just as the founders of our college followed the teachings of Jesus and modelled themselves on those who have walked before us, as a college community, we too do the same. 2022 marks a significant milestone in the history of our college as we look forward to celebrating 140 years of Mt Carmel and 120 years of St Mary’s. Information regarding the dates and schedule for this wonderful community event can be found here or by contacting the College Office. We look forward to seeing you there.

I would like to extend my gratitude to the 140 strong team of teachers, administrative, support, residential, household, grounds and maintenance staff for their commitment to our community. In the last couple of weeks staff have engaged in a wide variety of professional learning experiences, organised resources, learning materials and learning spaces in preparation for the return of our students in both the Formal online learning phase for Year 11 and 12 students and for those choosing to take part in engagement activities in readiness for the return to the college. They have shown resilience, dedication and creativity. I am truly blessed to lead such a wonderful team.

Please note that the College is currently reviewing the dates of events in the calendar between Monday 7 February and Friday 4 March 2022. Further correspondence and updates will be provided in the near future.

We are very excited to commence formal face to face learning next Monday and wish each of our students academic, social, personal and spiritual growth in 2022.

All the best for the year ahead.

Many blessings,

Melissa Turner
PRINCIPAL

2022 STAFF

* On Leave

COLLEGE PRINCIPAL: Melissa Turner

DEPUTY PRINCIPALS:
Joanne Andrews (St. Mary's Campus)
Maria Peck (Administration)
Dan Kyle (Pastoral & Residential)

ASSISTANT TO THE PRINCIPAL RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:
Christine O'Sullivan (Mt. Carmel Campus)
Ryan O'Connor (St. Mary's Campus)

BUSINESS MANAGER: Megan Cundell

PA TO PRINCIPAL: Jo-Anne Thompson

TEACHING STAFF:
Fiona Adcock, Jessica Allison, Thomas Andersen, Sonia Bennetto, Tonya Burgoine, Andrew Butler, Lara Burns, Jerry Cakau, Cheryl Callcott, Shae-Kia Carroll, Madeleine Carter, Haydn Champion, Peter Crow, Samuel De Waele, Elena Donohue, Maryann Ebsworth, Manny Exarhos, Murray Griffin, Dean Johnston, Carmen Labuschagne, Kalinda Large, Deirdre Martell, Marisa O'Connor, Michael Peck, Toni Pilcher, Georgina Porter, Neelam Raj, Chloe Shaw, Portia Simelane, Jessica Simmons, Robecca Sorrensen, Clare Stead, Brooke Stevenson, Irene Venter, Rebecca Wade, Gerard Webber, Stuart Whitby, Emma Wienert

* Shirley Champion, Robyn Christensen, Thomas Chitongo, Michael Ku

COLLEGE CHAPLAIN: * Natalie Grant

IT ADMINISTRATOR: Jason Harrison

RESIDENTIAL LEADERS:
Natalie Grant (Girls)
Peter Koen (Boys)

* Michelle Burns (Girls)

RESIDENTIAL HOUSE PARENTS:
Dianne Burton, Justin Dixon, Gayle Griffin, Chelsea Hislop, Caroline Jarmey, Kim Johnson, Natalie Keough, Margie Kingham, Cecilia Louk, Dawn McGill, Alix Phillips, Karen Spice, Wade Willoughby

ACCOUNTS STAFF: Kate Blackley

ADMINISTRATION AND LIBRARY STAFF:
Christine Bell, Anita Dixon, Megan Lucas, Genelle Mitchell (St. Mary's Campus), Paula Smith (St. Mary's Staff), Rebecca Williams

INDIGENOUS SUPPORT OFFICER: Evelyn Capewell

EMERGING LEADERS CO-ORDINATOR: Patricia Phillips

HEALTH CENTRE STAFF: Terrina Muston

GUIDANCE SUPPORT STAFF:
Sarah Smith
Lena Hewitt

* Aleesha Watson

CLASSROOM SUPPORT AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS:
Lesley Archer, Evelyn Capewell, Larrissa Crowley, Brooke Hamlyn, Adonia Hedges, Jacob Johnstone, Agnes Laffey, Cecilia Louk, Donna McIntosh, Uleta Miller, Justine Pickering, Karen Spice, Sonia Wood

*Annabelle Tse

HOUSEHOLD MANAGER: Debra Naughton

HOUSEHOLD STAFF:
Sharon Carr, Dianne Dunn, Shirley Fleming, Kim Fox, Sarah Fox, Kabita Lamichhane, Shirley Jackson, Leah James, Dallas Langtree, Diane Macdonald, Hitesh Patel, Juanita Sampson, Tara Sampson, Yvonne Streeter, Denise Sullivan, Maureen Sullivan, Bradley Wright

* Roselea Jarvis

FACILITIES MANAGER: Phil Capewell

GROUNDS/MAINTENANCE AND STUDENT TRANSPORT STAFF:
Robert Abdy, Darren Hope, James Lee, Ted Neilsen, Daryl Paxton

SUBJECT CHANGE TIMELINES

For a subject change to be finalised, students or Parents / Caregivers must make contact with the Deputy Principal – Administration by the time and dates listed below. These timelines have been set to allow students to settle into classes for a full semester / unit course without the disruption of excessive ‘class swapping’. The impact upon eligibility for the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) in Years 11 & 12 is also a major contributor to this set of timelines.

Year 11 students wishing to investigate the possibility of changing subjects have until the end of Week 3 to finalise this change.

Subject changes are not encouraged during Year 11 and 12 as this may have implications for students receiving their QCE and on their senior studies. Units 1 and 2 are studied independently and prepare students for Units 3 and 4 which are studied as a pair.

Students may apply to change subjects:

In the first 3 weeks of Unit 1
At the end of Unit 1 and 2
Subject changes are not possible at the end of Unit 3 as Units 3 and 4 must be studied as a pair.

DTTC CLASSES

Classes at the Dalrymple Trade Training Centre (DTTC) will begin in the week beginning either the 7th February or the 14th February. Students completing the Certificate II Health Support Services will attend the DTTC on Wednesday, while students completing the Certificate II Engineering Pathways, Certificate II Automotive Servicing and Certificate III in Kitchen Operations will attend on Thursday.

Students will be transported to the DTTC by College bus at 8.30am and will be bussed back to the Mt Carmel Campus at 3.00pm. It is expected that students will sign out at the Mt Carmel Office by 8.25am before catching the bus to the DTTC and check in with Ms Lucas when they return at 3.00pm. Students will be dismissed from the Mt Carmel Campus in the afternoon. Students are not to permitted to drive vehicles to the DTTC.

If Parents / Guardians / Caregivers need to pick students up from the DTTC for an appointment, it is essential that the office staff on the Mt. Carmel Campus are informed of these arrangements. The office staff will inform the staff at the DTTC.

HOMEWORK CLUB

Homework Club is available to all Year 7-12 students to focus on their homework and academic studies in a quiet, supervised and relaxed environment, where they can receive support from teachers. Students are able to attend Homework Club:

To complete homework.
To complete assignments.
To revise for exams.
To gain specialised assistance to help understand subject content eg. Maths, Science, English, HASS.

Homework Club will be held on Thursday afternoon from 3.05-4.05pm in the Library. Teachers volunteer to assist students at Homework Club in subject areas such as English, Maths, Science, Humanities and Social Sciences, Religious Education and Health and Physical Education.

STUDENT EXPECTATIONS:

Students will:

Be punctual to the after school session;
Be well prepared for each session with adequate homework or assignment or study work;
Work quietly and independently of other students;
Use computers to assist them with their academic studies only (eg. not play games etc).

SELECTION PROCEDURES FOR COLLEGE TEAMS

As the school year commences I thought it timely to address CCC sporting selection procedures, particularly in relation to Firsts' teams. In the interests of clarity, I wish to highlight the following.

As ‘open’ teams, First teams are not age based; rather they are skill based. Theoretically, College First team trials are open to all students from Years 7 to 12, with the exception of Rugby League. NRL rules are very clear regarding age requirements; only students who are 16, 17 or 18 years of age are eligible for selection. In all other sports multi-age teams are allowed and indeed we have fielded very successful teams in the past where younger students were selected in First teams.

At all First trials coaches err towards selecting 16, 17 or 18 year old students, unless a younger student’s skills mean that they are clearly of a level to play. The final selection decision may be influenced by whether or not the coach feels a student’s maturity levels would allow them to continue developing as an athlete in the First competition. It may also be influenced by whether or not the selection of a younger student would unduly disadvantage his or her younger age group. For example, if the selection of a younger player were to result in their age group being unable to field a competitive team, then the First coach would not select that player.

There is no requirement that Year 12 students be given precedence over Year 11s or younger students. Whenever possible Year 12s are selected, but not at the expense of more skilful athletes.

At all times the Coach’s and HPE Leader’s decisions in selection matters are final.

I acknowledge that our teams are not ‘playing for sheep stations’, but our interschool sporting competitions are competitive, not ‘social’. With this in mind, we endeavour to select competitive teams in an equitable and fair manner.

AN IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR PARENTS AND SPECTATORS

At this time of the year, as Columba teams take to the fields and courts around town, it is timely to remind parents and spectators of their responsibilities when attending school sporting fixtures.

The College has clearly developed Codes of Behaviour for parents and spectators (see below). These have been developed with two very important tenets in mind. The first is that young people should be allowed to participate in sport for their own enjoyment. The second is that all coaches and officials must be respected and supported, not undermined.

It is imperative that our coaches are able to train and coach their team without interference. At all times, coaches must be afforded the opportunity to address and direct their teams without having to compete for the players’ attention. Advice given from outside, while well-meaning, may actually contradict team plans and goals of which you are unaware. At all times, the coach’s say is final.

Our coaches and managers give generously of their own time so that your children can play each week. Please appreciate and respect their efforts, and continue to attend fixtures and support our great College teams.

PARENTS’ CODE OF BEHAVIOUR

Remember that children participate in sport for their enjoyment, not yours.
Encourage children to participate, do not force them.
Focus on the child’s efforts and performance rather winning or losing.
Encourage children always to play according to the rules and to settle disagreements without resorting to hostility or violence.
Never ridicule or yell at a child for making a mistake or losing a competition.
Remember that children learn best by example. Appreciate good performances and skilful plays by all participants.
Support all efforts to remove verbal and physical abuse from sporting activities.
Respect officials’ decisions and teach children to do likewise.
Show appreciation for volunteer coaches, officials and administrators. Without them, your child could not participate.
Respect the rights, dignity and worth of every young person regardless of their gender, ability, cultural background or religion.

SPECTATORS’ CODE OF BEHAVIOUR

Remember that young people participate in sport for their enjoyment and benefit, not yours.
Applaud good performance and efforts from all individuals and teams. Congratulate all participants on their performance regardless of the game’s outcome.
Respect the decisions of officials and teach young people to do the same.
Never ridicule or scold a young player for making a mistake. Positive comments are motivational.
Condemn the use of violence in any form, whether it is by spectators, coaches, officials or players.
Show respect for your team’s opponents. Without them there would be no game.
Encourage players to follow the rules and officials’ decisions.
Do not use foul language, sledge or harass players, coaches or officials.
Respect the rights, dignity and worth of every young person regardless of their gender, ability, cultural background or religion.

Please be aware that if you are behaving inappropriately, you may be asked to leave school sporting fixtures.

RESIDENTIAL NEWS

Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff and Students,

Welcome to the 2022 school year. I hope this letter finds you well and ready to embrace the year ahead. Even though at the time of writing this article our boarders are not physically present at the school due to the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, I am very much looking forward to their impending return. I welcome all continuing and new students to the College’s residential community. The boarders this year hail from all over north and central Queensland as well as the Northern Territory. The life experiences that these students bring to the boarding community can be best described as being rich and diversified in nature, making it an interesting and an exciting place to be.

Mrs Burns will commence the year as a Project Officer, tasked with the responsibility of conducting a review of our policies and procedures and boarding structures. She will play an important role for the future implementation of best practice policies and procedures within our boarding community. Mrs Natalie Grant will be acting as the Girls’ Boarding Residential Leader. I am highly confident that she will do a sterling job for the school. Mr Peter Koen, the Boys’ Residential Leader, has arrived at the College after being stranded in NSW due to the pandemic. Mr Koen is very excited to be finally here and is looking forward to meeting the boys. Whilst on the subject of staffing, later on this term, four GAP students from South Africa will be joining our residential team. I am sure they will bring a richness of life experiences and culture to our residential community.

In regards to facilities, this year Comerford will undergo a major renovation. The new dorm layout will be contemporary and modern in nature and will be aesthetically pleasing for our junior boy residents. On another note, the College gym will also be extended. This venture is deemed necessary due to the volume of gym attendees utilising the gym facilities.

In regards to Student Weekend Leave for the foreseeable future, leave will only be granted to parents and guardians. This is a necessary risk mitigating measure that the College deems necessary to minimise potential outbreaks of COVID-19 in the residences. Town leave will be restricted to midweek outings (to purchase incidentals) for the immediate future, and students will only be permitted to access this type of leave in small groups.

This year the Residential Newsletter will continue to be a fortnightly publication and will be directly emailed to you.

With the outbreak of COVID-19 in Queensland, the College will keep families updated on any developments. Please refer to the Queensland Government’s website at https://www.qld.gov.au/health for further information and updates. Please note that all children will be required to possess and wear facemasks whilst at the school and in settings where they are unable to physically distance. This includes but is not limited to supermarkets and retail shops, hospitality venues including cafes, cinemas and theatres, indoor stadiums, sports arenas, gyms and sport activities, vulnerable settings like hospitals and aged care, schools, airports and on planes. To minimise possible COVID-19 outbreaks, only residents will be permitted inside the residences.

Finally, I look forward to working with you, the parents and caregivers of your children, so that we may provide the best possible level of residential care. Thank you for entrusting the College with the education of your child/ren and I look forward to catching up with as many parents and guardians as possible throughout the year.

Dan Kyle
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - PASTORAL/RESIDENTIAL